The goal for the morning was for my students to document as many of the plant species as possible for Kirby Lake.

We were using a citizen science digital mobile app called iNaturalist to take a photo of a plant and then upload to the cloud. The uploaded image is compared to a database of expertly identified plant species using an artificial intelligence, deep learning software program created by Google.

The remarkable thing is that you get a suggested identification back to your mobile device in usually less than a minute, and as a botanist who is familiar with the plants at Kirby, I can say that the identifications are very accurate for most.

For my students — and for any would-be nature explorer and citizen scientist — this instantaneous feedback opens up a world of discovery and remarkable way to learn about and experience nature in an urban park setting. More on this shortly.

About the plan

First, a little bit about why my students and I spent several mornings during May at Kirby.

The class I was teaching is called Restoration Ecology, an intensive, three-week course in the Hardin-Simmons May Term semester. Our project at Kirby was in support of the first phase of development for Kirby Lake Nature Park.

The area under development and restoration is located in the covered pavilion and picnic area on the east side of the lake between the Wylie baseball fields. The restoration work includes a nature boardwalk and a gravel path through the woods down to the lake shore. near the current boat ramp. Future plans include construction of an organic bird blind that will be covered with a green prairie roof.

“A nature park at Kirby Lake has been an ongoing dream of a dedicated and visionary group of local residents, known as Friends of Kirby Lake. This group has been working with the city of Abilene for the past several years to achieve this vision of a nature park.”

Rick L. Hammer, Hardin-Simmons University professor

The ongoing restoration is part of a Children’s Intelligent Nature Play theme that will include a sand discovery pit with climbing logs, wildflower meadow and an arboretum of native trees and shrubs. Along the boardwalk and gravel paths will be interpretive signs to allow urban nature explorers to learn about some of the more common bird species found at Kirby and about the local flora and fauna.

Pullouts, or “gathering places,” will be strategically located along the paths to allow a teacher and students to pause and observe interesting flowers and plants and to talk about the local ecology.

A nature park at Kirby has been an ongoing dream of a dedicated and visionary group of local residents, known as Friends of Kirby Lake. This group has been working with the city of Abilene for the past several years to achieve this vision of a nature park. The broader Kirby Lake Nature Park project is to create a habitat preserve around the area of the lake, with the major objective of the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment and systems that support the habitat and birding populations.

Popular destination

Kirby Lake is a popular destination for a number of recreational activities, such as fishing and birding, and the vision is to partner with these and other existing recreational opportunities at the lake with a goal to support and enhance their experience.

The near legendary and long-time local Kirby fisherman “Slipcork," also known as Mike Cornett, is a supporter of the nature park development plan and has been assisting the Friends of Kirby Lake as a goodwill ambassador of sorts, as a representative to the Kirby fishing community.

A gravel path leads to the shoreline of Kirby Lake.(Photo11: Rick L. Hammer)

As for birding at Kirby, a check of the digital app called eBird shows 234 species have been observed at the lake in past years, with observations submitted by not only local Abilene area birders, but also by visitors from around Texas, including Fort Worth, San Antonio, Bastrop and from New Mexico and Virginia.

Kirby is a destination for serious birders passing through the Abilene area.

Learning experience

Back to my HSU restoration ecology students and our work at Kirby.

Both as an urban ecologist and professor I have always been committed to providing outdoor, nature-oriented learning experiences for my ecology students. In the past, these immersive experiences have mostly consisted of an extended travel trip during the HSU May Term to such places as Davis Mountains State Park in the trans-Pecos region of southwest Texas, or to the piney woods forests of the Big Thicket of East Texas.

These excursions involved camping in a tent, cooking supper over a grill or propane stove, and lots of time spent outside.

In comparison to the extended out-of-town field trips, during the time with my students at Kirby I noticed something unanticipated in their short three-hour immersion in the natural history of an urban city park. What I found was that most of the students remained engaged and connected to the animals, plants and habitats they were “immersed” in at the park even after completing their assigned areas to survey plants.

When I rejoined one of the groups (pictured on the swings above) they were excited to tell me about their attempts to identify animals such as an orb-weaving spider and various insects with the iNaturalist app.

Hardin-Simmons students, from left, Samantha Bolden, Randa Watson, Caitlin Christiansen and Laura Faz enjoyed playtime after completing class field work for the day at Kirby Lake.(Photo11: Rick L. Hammer)

I am almost certain that I have never observed this voluntary connection and motivation to explore and learn about biodiversity on the longer camping trips. Having a wonderful exploratory tool such as iNaturalist was certainly important in enabling and motivating the students to make this connection, something I had not anticipated. However, I am starting to think that a half-day trip to an urban park such as Kirby may have some advantages over a longer out-of-town trip for helping students connect with the natural world and most importantly, to have an enjoyable and positive experience.

Camping in a tent for several nights in an unknown place has some necessary disadvantages and distractions sucha scooking food, cleaning dishes and simply adjusting one’s daily routine to something they may be a little uncomfortable with. These things may end up as obstacles and distractions that keep students from being able to simply explore and enjoy nature in a comfortable setting.

In contrast, a visitor to Kirby can step out of his or her urban city lifestyle for a short 30-minute hike into the woods or even explore with a digital mobile app like iNaturalist or eBird for an enhanced experience.

More ahead

Based on the observations of my students over the last two weeks I am excited about the potential of Lake Kirby Nature Park to offer the Abilene area community a unique opportunity for connecting to nature in an ubran setting that is non-threatening and maybe even feels almost like home.

I sincerely hope the people of Abilene will support the future development of this natural treasure that sits right in our backyard. The opportunities for exploring and appreciating God’s good creation are endless.

Dr. Rick L Hammer is associate professor of biology at Hardin-Simmons University. He also serves as science coordinator for Friends of Kirby Lake and welcomes inquiries about using iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org) and eBird (ebird.org) for outdoor nature exploration and questions about Kirby in general. Follow news at Lake Kirby Nature Park on its Facebook page (@lakekirbynaturepark) and Rick Hammer video blogs about Kirby and the Big Country on his YouTube channel.